Akron WiT Code Epic Bootcamp: My Experience

by Michelle Janosi

Today marks the start of the fifth week with Akron WiT’s Code Epic bootcamp and what a great ride it’s been so far. Before joining the Code Epic, I went through various courses, such as Udemy, Codeacademy, Learn.co, Launch School and a handful of other programs and I think I can finally say this is the one course that actually works for me.

Why it works

Learning to program is hard and it’s even harder when you’re trying to learn it on your own. Adding to that is the discipline to stick with learning and finding help when you get stuck, and getting stuck can happen a lot. This is where the Code Epic is great. You have a set proven curriculum with Free Code Camp and each week we have a specific task or tasks that we’re given to work on. This helps tremendously when it comes to keeping myself on track and actually doing the work and I’ve had more fun than I’ve ever had working through each week’s projects.

Now I haven’t really needed any additional help…. yet, but I know that when I do run into something that totally stumps me, help is always available. I also like that we have a small group of women that work together each week in the program though I wouldn’t call it a social event. Most of our communication happens on Slack but we do get together on a Google Hangout to share what worked and didn’t work during the past week. If you’re a bit shy or a social butterfly, this bootcamp will work for you. I’m a bit of an Introvert so the small group environment works perfectly.

It’s only 10 hours a week

With online bootcamps like Learn.co and Launch School, you have to put in 20 and/or more hours a week to make it through. That can be a bit stressful when you’re working and trying to learn programming. This Code Epic has made it manageable for me to learn and do projects in addition to working at my day job during the week. Though I can put in more than 10 hours a week, I know that I don’t have to which takes away a lot of the stress and anxiety, making it easier for me to learn and do projects.

It’s fun!

I have enjoyed the work in this bootcamp so much that I literally can’t wait to get up in the morning and start that day’s work. I’ve definitely had the most fun creating the first two front end development projects and seriously can’t wait to get started on the intermediate ones. I don’t know if I’m crazy or what but this journey has been super fun for me. This is what keeps me going and all the other courses I’ve tried didn’t do that for me. Add to that the super friendly and super smart ladies of Akron WiT and you have the perfect online coding bootcamp. Well, at least I think so 😉

The next 9 weeks

We still have a long way to go before we finish the first of four Code Quests, and it will take four Quests to complete the full Epic and get our Front End Web Development certificate from Free Code Camp. But if the rest of the journey is anything like the experience I’ve had in my first four weeks, it’ll be fabulous and fun. I know it only gets more challenging from here, but knowing how much I’ll have learned and done by the end of this Code Epic makes me so look forward to it. I have gained more confidence in my learning than I have with any other program and this makes me more confident in knowing that one day I will be able to take my knowledge and experience and find a rewarding career at the end. That’s the ultimate prize and one I can’t wait to get.